Field procedures
Use evidence, not assumptions
The category guides explain what each attachment does. These tutorials explain how to gather the carrier data, inspect the equipment, commission the complete installation and measure the commercial result.
Most attachment problems begin outside the attachment. A quotation is prepared from a carrier tonne class instead of an actual lift chart. Pump output is mistaken for usable auxiliary flow. A pair of couplers is assumed to provide every function. The head arrives, and the missing bracket, drain, controller, guard or hose route becomes an urgent workshop problem.
The first four tutorials prevent that chain. Measure flow under pressure with hot oil. Trace the installed circuit and identify what can operate simultaneously. Build attachment, hitch, rotator and retained material into the lift calculation. Commission the delivered combination under representative load and preserve a baseline for future diagnosis.
The next four procedures protect the operating result. A dedicated case drain keeps motor leakage from becoming a seal failure. A used-equipment inspection converts wear, missing fitment and support risk into a delivered-and-working cost. A tender-rate method connects completed production to paid hours, while a planned field kit turns parts availability into an uptime control.
Each tutorial is written as a field sequence rather than a product recommendation. It states the short answer first, identifies the checks in order, explains why they matter, lists failure patterns and finishes with a recordable checklist. Use the relevant procedure as part of supplier briefing, commissioning, operator training or estimating.
Use a calibrated flow meter and load valve at normal operating temperature, test the intended auxiliary circuit in both required directions, and record flow at the attachment manufacturer’s working pressure. The machine’s advertised pump output is not the number the attachment receives.
Open tutorial →Trace the hoses and controls rather than counting couplers. Confirm whether flow is one-way or reversible, whether a low-pressure case drain returns independently to tank, and whether two attachment functions can operate at the same time. Then verify the result against the machine manual and a functional test.
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Treat published carrier tonnes as an initial filter. The final match requires attachment mass with bracket and rotator, excavator lift capacity at the actual radius and sector, usable hydraulic flow and pressure, transport configuration, guarding, and the maximum material the head will retain.
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Commission the ordered attachment as one installed system. Verify identity and mass, mechanical fit, hose routing, hydraulic settings, control logic, guarding and transport before loading it on representative material. Record baseline pressures, temperatures, cycle times and operator limits for future troubleshooting.
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Route the motor’s case-drain port through a dedicated, correctly sized, low-restriction line to the approved tank connection. Confirm the attachment manufacturer’s maximum drain pressure and measure it at working temperature. Never cap the port or tee it casually into a pressurised return.
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Identify the exact model and serial first, then inspect structure, pins, bearings, wear system, hydraulics, controls and supplied fitment as separate cost lines. Test the head hot on representative material and price every missing bracket, hose, controller and overdue wear item before comparing it with a complete new quotation.
Open tutorial →Choose the unit the client accepts, estimate completed units per productive hour from comparable work, calculate the full hourly cost of carrier, attachment and crew, then add mobilisation, wear variability, downtime, overhead, risk and margin explicitly. Do not turn a demonstration cycle into an all-in hectare or stump rate.
Open tutorial →Stock parts by failure consequence, consumption rate and replenishment lead time—not by what is cheapest. Carry enough teeth, blades, chains, hoses, couplers, fasteners and service tools to protect the next work period, with every item matched to the exact attachment serial range and a reorder point recorded.
Open tutorial →How to use the library
Complete the circuit, flow and carrier checks, then send the recorded results to every supplier. Quotations become comparable because they start from the same installed machine and required work.
Use the installation and commissioning procedure to verify what was ordered, save machine settings and record a working baseline before wear or site conditions change performance.
Record completed units, hours, wear, temperature and downtime. Feed the evidence into the tender-rate and parts-kit procedures so the next job is based on observed work rather than memory.
These procedures do not replace the excavator or attachment manufacturer’s instructions, a lift study, competent hydraulic testing or a site-specific safe-work method. They make the information needed for those decisions visible. Where the result is uncertain, stop and involve the relevant supplier, engineer or technician rather than increasing a setting or improvising a connection.
Use the complete buyer’s guide to select a category, the industry profiles to define the commercial setting, and these tutorials to verify and document the system that will perform the work. Once the machine is deployed, continue with the operation and maintenance guides.